The Road to Redemption: An Evening Chigozie Obioma
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Set against the backdrop of Nigeria's civil war, follow the journey of Kunle as he embarks on a quest for redemption and brotherhood in Chigozie Obioma's new novel, The Road to the Country. Join us for the evening where we will explore the depths of Nigerian literature with one of its most acclaimed storytellers.
A sweeping, heartracing, mystical novel about a university student in Lagos who must save his brother, and himself, amid the chaos of Nigeria's civil war—a story of love, friendship, and family by the two-time Booker Prize finalist and "the heir to Chinua Achebe" (New York Times)
At first the vision is grainy—like something seen through wet glass. But slowly it clears, and there appears the figure of a man.
When Kunle's younger brother disappears as his country explodes in civil war, Kunle must set out on an impossible rescue mission. Set in Nigeria in the late 1960s, The Road to the Country is the epic story of a shy, bookish student haunted by long-held guilt and shame who must go to war to free himself. Kunle's search for his brother becomes a journey of atonement that will see Kunle conscripted into the breakaway Biafran army and forced to fight a war he hardly understands, all while navigating the prophecies of a local Seer, who marks Kunle as an Abami Eda—one who will die and return to life.
The story of a young man seeking redemption in a country on fire, Chigozie Obioma’s novel is an odyssey of brotherhood, love, and unimaginable courage set during one of the most devastating conflicts in the history of Africa. Intertwining myth and realism into a thrilling, inspired, and emotionally powerful novel, The Road to the Country is the masterpiece of Chigozie Obioma, a writer Salman Rushdie calls "a major voice" in literature.
Chigozie Obioma was born in Akure, Nigeria. His two novels, The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities, were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His novels have won the inaugural FT/Oppenheimer Award for Fiction, the NAACP Image Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and have been nominated for many others. He was named one of Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and divides his time between the U.S. and Nigeria. His novels have been translated into 30 languages.
Simon Van Booy has written more than a dozen works of fiction (including Sipsworth, Night Came with Many Stars and The Presence of Absence) and is the editor of three volumes of philosophy. Raised in rural North Wales, Simon currently lives between London and New York, where he is a volunteer EMT for Central Park Medical Unit and RVAC. In early 2020, he rescued his first mouse.
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